Arnie's guy

His brute-like force and body impressed actor Arnold Schwarzenegger so much, that the 'Styrian Oak' of bodybuilding arranged for Varinder Singh Ghuman to be the brand ambassador of his products in Asia.

Hailing from Jalandhar, 28-year-old Varinder is also the world's first vegetarian bodybuilder. The 130 kg heavy and six feet two inches tall vegan shares, "It was during a visit to Spain for a competition for the Arnold Classic Bodybuilding Championship that I got to meet the star. I was a top ranker at the event and Arnold was enthralled to see my body and that I was the tallest bodybuilder from India."

With Varinder set to endorse Arnold's health supplements and gymnasiums in Asia, he can't help but revel in the attention showered on him by the Terminator star who also updated his Facebook status about Varinder, saying, 'An amazing talent from India.' Not just this, Arnold even pasted and tagged a link to Varinder's upcoming Punjabi film, Kabaddi Once again, on his account.

Predictably, Varinder is on cloud nine, "I feel proud for getting noticed by such a big Hollywood actor. He had never promoted any Bollywood movie before this. I take it as his blessings that he posted my poster on his account. He even found our cases to be similar, now that I'm headed to work in films based on sports."

Varinder is the captain of the Indian bodybuilding team and was one of the top rankers in International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness's (IFBB) bodybuilding competition.

He even won gold in Australian Grand Prix. After being crowned Mr India in 2009 and later Mr Asia, Varinder now eyes Mr Olympia.

Interestingly, he has also signed a Bollywood movie called Fateh, in which he plays the lead role.

About his vegan lifestyle, Varinder says he eats neither egg nor non-vegetarian food, sustaining instead on milk. "I'm lucky to have been born in a family of dairy farmers. So, I had access to milk from almost 600 head of cattle that we own," he laughs. Sports run in his blood with Varinder's grandfather having been a hockey player and father, a kabaddi player.

From an early age, shares the bodybuilder, I had an ambition of being a strong man and always aspired to be a bodybuilder.

Varinder advises Punjab's aspiring bodybuilders, who are said to indulge in a heavy intake of steroids, to undergo vigorous training and eat a healthy diet.